Thicker Than Water
by The-Cursed-Daughter
Summary: So she lies, weaving a story to save their lives, as the demon watches, trying to see the truth. Hellboy/OC
1. Chapter 1

Hey!

_See? We aren't dead. And yes, I know that we should be working on our Da Vinci Code story, but this fic has been my brainchild for nearly two years, and I've started pre-writing the first few chapters, and I just had to post it._

Also, if you want a little teaser for this fic, go read our other story, Untouchable.

_And even though I swore left, right and backwards that I wouldn't write about vampires, I did. But this is nothing like any sparkly bullshit you've seen before._

**_Warnings/Disclaimers: Rose/Opal, Noel/Feroluce and the plot are ours. So are a few others OC's that'll be introduced later. I might change the rating to M for some sex later on. We do not own the Hellboy movies/comics._**

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><p>Father is dead.<p>

_The words ran through her mind; clear, blunt, unmistakable—_real_—but the sorrow that welled up was anything but. _

_Real was the impact of the cannonballs and ramrods on the battlements and the doors._

_Real was the slice of an arrow as it embedded in flesh._

_Real was the hiss of the flames as they greedily gobbled up tapestries, carpets, tables and priceless treasures of a long, forgotten-by-man culture—hers._

_Her formal, mounting pity and despair at the death of the former king withered in comparison. _

_It was rage. _Rage _coursed through her veins, pounded in her temples, threatening to burst in a beautiful cacophony of blood. How _dare _Kreops? Who was that neophyte, to think to take her throne from her? Did he fancy her weak? If so, that would be quickly and easily remedied!_

_"Highness!"_

_She paused—of course. The rage died, smothered by centuries of duty. Her people. To fight Kreops would be to risk death, and her people could not have a dead queen. The subject who'd called to her came closer—just as the sudden crack of lumber filled her ears. Though she couldn't see it, she knew the servant would call to her no more. _

_"Opal!"_

_She turned, hearing the footsteps rush toward her. A hand grabbed hers; another patted her face, her chest, her sides. "Are you harmed?"_

_Opal smiled. "No, Feroluce."_

_A pair of lips pressed to her forehead quickly. "And the rosario? You have it?"_

_Opal pressed his hand to the center of her shirt—beneath the thin cotton fabric, a large silver cross, embedded with black diamonds and rubies, hung between her breasts from a plain silver chain around her neck. "Here, brother."_

_Feroluce sighed in relief as the castle burned around them, and grinned. "Good." A sudden thought wiped it off his face. "Father is dead." His voice, too, held nothing more than formal pity. _

_She nodded, aware of the flames pressing closer, surrounding them in the once-spacious hallway. "Kreops killed him. We have to run."_

_"Agreed." Neither wanted to flee, but Feroluce's hand wrapped around hers and they turned, sprinting for the unbroken window at the end of the hall, just right of the stairs. Opal felt the familiar stretch of her bones as she leapt onto the window seat, pitch-black wings erupting from her back. Glass bits cut into her skin, a sudden drop and then—_

_Weeks passed. They fled, unpursued, to the Continent, and then across the ocean to New York. Even in a city so large, people stopped to stare at the strange siblings; eerily beautiful, pale skin and pitch hair, livery fit for ancient nobles, clothes covered in black feathers, haunting red eyes—even the girl's, which couldn't see. The large, ornate cross that hung around her neck._

_Opal sighed as they retreated to the chaos of the subway, Feroluce's hand at her elbow. "What language do they speak here?"_

_Feroluce frowned. "English, I suppose, but different."_

_"All right then," the words, the sounds, the language—so unlike hers—felt strange on her tongue, "Sanctuary." She turned to her brother, the rosario clutched in her fist—always around her neck, but wrapped in her fingers when insanity and confusion threatened to overwhelm. "I do believe it is time for Rose Moretti and her older brother Noel to find sanctuary." _

_The despair that threatened her now was real—King Byron's death may as well have been a fairytale. _

* * *

><p>With a sickening squelch, Hellboy's boot connected with the garage floor as he jumped from the truck. He'd <em>hated <em>Nicaragua-two weeks of _swamp_. The demon grimaced as he looked at his slime-coated shoes. "Why the hell did we come back ta this?"

"Because, Red, this is what we're good at." Hellboy turned to see Abe get out of the truck—with much more grace and less slime than the demon had, Hellboy noted sourly—carrying an armload of equipment. "Besides," he murmured, glancing back at Liz and the others, "It's the only place we had left to go."

"Don't tell me about it." Quitting had been a bad idea and a rash decision. They had no idea where they were supposed to go, or live, or work. And in the midst of all the stress—and Hellboy's general ineptitude at being an expecting father—Liz lost the children; she, and their relationship, had fallen apart at the seams. Speaking about it had become taboo.

Then they'd gotten an angry phone call from John, newly returned from the cold south, demanding to know why they'd left without a word to him. Then another from Clay. It was after that that the four outcasts decided to return to the BPRD—Manning welcomed them back with open arms and several dozen thank yous.

Trudging into the hallway, and trying to ignore the squelch of his boots, Hellboy spotted a familiar, balding head. "Manning! What the hell were ya thinkin', sendin' us ta—?"

He trailed off as he approached the Director of the BPRD and saw who he was talking to.

Two teenagers stood with Manning, looking like they'd just stepped out of Gothic England.

Both strangers were pale, tall, with pitch black hair and ethereal features. Both wore brown trousers and the girl's white shirt _laced up _in the front—black, feathered wings sprouted from the back of the male's jerkin. They'd turned when they heard Hellboy, and the demon heard Liz gasp behind him-both siblings, because that's what they had to be, had startling red eyes, but the girl's were unseeing. She was blind.

Manning nodded as the team approached. "Let me introduce Rose and Noel Moretti." The two smiled politely, revealing fangs whiter than the lights that hung above them. "They're vampires looking for sanctuary."

John arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes." All heads turned to look at Rose, who spoke with authority and command that made Manning's fits pale in comparison. She turned to John, her brother's hand at her elbow. "Director Manning has already been kind enough to introduce us, but," she glanced at him, "if you would allow me to reiterate myself?"

Manning nodded, stunned. "Of course."

She smiled quickly and turned back to the team. "Thank you. My brother and I are from a clan of vampires centered around Wales and England for several hundred years. A century ago, our clan was caught by surprise, our father—our leader—killed, and our people exterminated. It was through sheer luck that Noel and I escaped. Since then, we've run from country to country until someone told us about the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. And now we are here, seeking sanctuary in exchange for our talents."

John blinked in surprise. "Several hundred years? How old _are _you?"

Rose looked at her brother, who murmured something under his breath. "In comparison to a human? I am nineteen, and Noel is twenty-four."

"And in not-human—er, actual—years?"

The vampire paused, thinking. "Six hundred thirty-five and six hundred forty, respectively."

As she spoke, Hellboy's gaze was pulled to the heavy-looking, elegant silver cross—semi-modestly decorated with black diamonds and scarlet rubies—that hung from a silver chain around Rose's neck. "Talents, huh?"

Rose turned to him. "Oh, you must be Anung Un Rama—my apologies, _Hellboy_—then." She extended her hand. After a small pause as everyone stared at her, stunned, she frowned. "I am correct, am I not?"

Johann nodded, his gears creaking. "Ja, but ve vere under ze impression that you are, erm," he paused awkwardly, "blind."

Rose chuckled. "I'm afraid I've put you in a difficult situation, Dr. Krauss. Yes, I am blind—an old war wound, actually—but this," she gripped the cross around her neck, "is an old family heirloom and a magical artifact at that; it helps. I can't see things and colors and shapes, but I _know _them and where they are and what they make up. It's a difficult thing to explain."

"So why does your brother hold your arm like that?"

Both Rose and Noel looked at Liz, who stood in the back. Rose smiled. "My brother is overprotective. And besides, to know something takes learning and then practice. I've only been in this facility five days."

"Well said," Abe noted.

Rose moved to face him and extended her hand again. "You must be Abraham Sapien."

The fish-man looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure if you were warned, but I—"

"I'm well aware," Rose told him. Tentatively, Abe took her hand and flinched. Looking at her arm, Hellboy saw why. Rows of horizontal cuts, sliced with medical precision, lined the insides of both her arms—some were ancient scars and others were barely healing. A quick glance confirmed Noel had them as well.

Abe released her hand and turned to Noel to shake his. "Pleased to meet you."

Noel simply nodded, and Abe frowned. "Is he mute?"

"My brother doesn't speak English," Rose told them as the young man gripped her arm firmly.

"Oh, vell zen," Johann said, "How about German? Italian? French? Russian?"

Rose and Noel shared a small smile. "He speaks none of those."

"Really?" Abe was intrigued. "What does he speak?"

"Believe me, Agent Sapien; you do not know the language that my brother speaks." Something in her voice made Hellboy uneasy.

Manning cleared his throat. "Well, Noel and Rose are aware of the probationary agent guidelines, and I'm sure the maintenance crew has finished with your rooms." He turned to the team. "And I'm sure you have reports to write."

* * *

><p>"I don't care what everyone else says, Manning's still an ass," Hellboy grumbled as he sharpened his pencil for the umpteenth time. "Goddamnit!"<p>

Abe sighed and looked up from his half-finished report. "Use a pen, Red."

The demon didn't even hear him, or if he did, he paid him no mind. "And what's he think he's doin'? Since when are we a daycare?"

John glanced up from his stack of papers. "I don't know, Red. They looked pretty formidable. Especially the girl—Rose, was it? She even made Manning a little calmer."

Red snorted, putting paper to pencil again. "I don't trust 'er." His eyes glanced up at Abe. "What'd ya see in their heads, Blue?"

Abe looked down. "Nothing, actually. Both have set up mental shields against powers like mine. Rose's was particularly strong-it was like running headfirst into a brick wall."

John grinned. "You were stonewalled?"

Hellboy snorted, his tail flicking up to smack John on the back of his head. The agent fixed him with a glare. "You need to stop watching NCIS."

The demon smirked. "My point is, is that Manning ain't the best judge a character—he doesn't like _me_, right? They're hiding somethin'. And how does that guy not speak English? He understands us, but he doesn't speak English? Are we s'pposed to buy that?"

"Did you see the cuts on their arms?"

Liz's voice wove through the silence after Hellboy's questions, everyone suddenly awkward. Johann's gears clicked together. "Yes. I vonder vhat zose are from."

"There were so many. Maybe—"

"You guys!" Clay stuck his head into of Hellboy's room. "Come here. You've got to see this."

* * *

><p>Hellboy's jaw dropped.<p>

The new kids were sparring in the gym, hordes of agents swarming around them, gaping. They fought like they were dancing—Rose ducked as Noel swiped at her, then he dropped to a crouch as Rose's foot shot past where his head was moments ago. His foot struck at her ankles, but she was already in the air, cart-wheeling over him and sending an elbow at the back of his neck with the grace of a practiced gymnast. But he had already moved out of the way, and she was back on the ground, and they were caught in an exchange of kicks and punches that never seemed to connect, until Rose's boot clipped Noel in the shoulder. The crack echoed across the gym.

And suddenly, the illusion of dancing was broken. Rose crossed the mats to where she'd sent her brother flying, crouching next to him and murmuring something under her breath. He nodded, and she smiled, helping him up. Turning to the crowd of agents, she cocked her head and asked, "Yes?"

The agents exploded into a sudden, embarrassed flurry of movement, so Hellboy almost missed the siblings as they made their way out of the gym. "Hey. Need any help?"

The two looked up from their whispered conversation, and Rose smiled politely. "No, thank you."

"Ya sure, because I could help ya get to the infirmary—"

"I assure you, we're fine."

Hellboy frowned. "Do ya know where the infirmary is?"

"I'm sure my brother knows."

"But he doesn't speak English. How're ya gonna tell the doctor what's wrong?"

Her smile was no less polite, but it seemed more strained. "He's dislocated his shoulder. That is what I am for, to explain to the medic should they not be able to see the issue themselves." Her expression was defensive. "I would set it myself, but Dr. Manning has informed me that due to a number of agents taking liberties with injuries, we are now supposed to report even minor ones to the infirmary."

The demon's head reeled—she spoke clearly, but quickly, her accent both accentuating syllables and weaving them together. And why was she getting defensive? He'd only asked a question. "Nobody listens to Manning."

"So it would seem." Rose glanced at her brother as he murmured something Hellboy couldn't catch. "In any case, thank you for your help, Hellboy."

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><p><em>Reviews would be lovely.<em>

_Kit &_ Vi


	2. Chapter 2

_Right. Well, thanks for the nonexistent feedback. This is the second chapter._

_Also, their language is an off-shoot of something Vi and I came up with when we were kids. Let me know if it's hard to understand, and I'll try to clarify._

**_Warnings/Disclaimers: Same as before. Guardians are ours, too._ **

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><p>"<em>I'm to do <em>what_?"_

_Opal regretted the words before they left her mouth. Her instructor and Feroluce looked up, surprised at her outburst._

"_Slice your skin open, Highness," her teacher repeated. "To summon the guardians." He turned to Feroluce. "Show her."_

_She watched her brother reach toward his scarred arms—being five years older than her meant he started training five years earlier, and the thin skin of his inner arms was already riddled with ancient cuts and ones that were just barely healing. A quick flick of his fingers and an old wound tore open, blood—_far_ more blood then there should've been—pooled to the ground and then rose, taking the shape of a lion._

_No, not quite a lion. It's limbs were too long and it's face was too lean, from the details Opal could gather from within the velvety darkness of the blood that the creature was formed of._

_Feroluce smiled, and with a small gesture, the lion disappeared back into his veins. "See? Simple."_

_As he wrapped gauze around his new wound, Opal held up her own hand, contemplating her rounded nails—they would be too painful to use. Fishing the knife from her boot, she pressed it to her skin, feeling the bite as she pulled it quickly away._

_The three watched, fascinated, as blood flooded over her thin wrist. A long-limbed, lean, wolfish creature rose from her lifeblood, considering her with inky eyes. Behind Opal, her teacher gasped. "I haven't seen such quick mastery since—"_

Don't say my father, not my father, I'm nothing like him, don't say I'm like him—

"—_Aranbella. Since your mother."_

Oh._ Opal turned to him and the wolf lowered itself into a hunter's crouch. Unsure, she willed it calm, and it sat back on its haunches. "My mother?"_

_Feroluce flinched, but only Opal noticed. The instructor smiled. "Yes, Highness. Although her guardians were spiders."_

_Opal grinned. She knew little of the woman who bore her—just that she was dead._

"_However," the man continued, "Yours and your brother's guardianship seems to come from your honored father—both big animals. His were tigers, I believe."_

_Her smile soured._

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><p>It was the screaming that woke Hellboy up in the middle of the night.<p>

It was ridiculously piercing, and though he had to slam his hands over his ears, he had to admit it almost sounded musical. From the lack of angry shouting, Liz probably wasn't up, and Hellboy grumbled, wishing he was that sound of a sleeper. Grunting as he tried to open his door with his foot—stumbling several times before remembering he had a tail—Hellboy stormed down the hall, wincing as the screams grew louder once he was outside his steel-lined room.

John, Clay, Abe and Johann were already up, and standing in the hallway, trying to tell where the screaming was coming from. Hellboy paused as he came up to them—normally his demon ears would be able to pick up the exact location, but the screams were bouncing off the walls; messing with his sense of direction as well as giving him a migraine.

It wasn't until a black-winged blur shot past him that he knew where the noise was coming from.

"Rose's room!" he hollered, hoping the others would hear him. Johann, who didn't seem to be perturbed by the noise, nodding and clanked off after Noel, who had already skidded around the corner, his bare, clawed feet leaving deep gashes in the tile. Hellboy groaned—Manning was going to have _his _ass for that.

By the time they got to Rose's room, the door was knocked off its hinges, but Noel stood in the center of room, staring at something by the bed.

Rose was on the ground, tangled in her black sheets and thrashing like a fish out of water. Her eyes were wide open, and the cross around her neck was glinting in the low light. Her bottom lip was shiny with blood, and Hellboy realized she had bitten herself accidently. One of Rose's hands caught the frame of the bed, and Hellboy winced as her nails clawed through the wood, leaving bloody streaks. He suddenly knew why Noel was hesitant about coming near her—she'd kill anyone within two feet.

Abe took a step forward, then paused, and John's hand lingered by his gun. Johann moved past both of them, stopping over the girl and trying to figure out where her limbs were under the sheets. It wasn't until her claws gouged several deep lines across the leg of his suit that he jumped back with a stream of German curses.

"Aw, screw this!"

Crossing the room in several steps, Hellboy snatched up the girl, almost dropping her as he realized how hot her skin was. Where her skin touched his, it burned like when he was thrown into an oven that one time in Belgium—and he was fireproof. Red winced as one of her flailing hands cut a gash in his chin. He glanced at Noel, who was glaring daggers at him. "Hey, buddy, I'm tryin' ta help her!"

As he snapped at the vampire, Rose shifted, and the rosario pressed against Red's bare skin. This time he really did drop her—on the bed. Glancing down at the cross-shaped burn on his chest, and praying it would fade before he had to explain it to Liz, Hellboy turned to Noel again. "Can we take the stupid cross off 'a her?"

The horrified look on the other man's face told Hellboy that this was a _big_ no-no.

"Agent Hellboy!"

Red jumped as Johann and Abe beckoned to him from the bathroom across the room. John poked his head out a second later. "Red, in here!"

Rushing across the room, Hellboy spun sideways to avoid bashing the girl's head against the doorframe, her brother peering anxiously over his shoulder. The others had filled her bathtub full of freezing water, and without hesitation, Hellboy dumped her in.

The screaming was abruptly cut off as Rose's head disappeared under the water and Noel gripped the doorframe so hard the wood splintered as they waited for her head to come back up. Just as Hellboy was about to reach for her, the vampire's head shot out of the water, coughing. Her sightless eyes were wide as she glanced around, and her hands shot up to the rosario, checking to see if it was still there. Satisfied, she sucked in a deep breath and said shakily, "Get out."

"Hey," Hellboy started indignantly, "We were just tryin' ta help. Yer the one screamin' like a psycho and—"

_"Get out!"_ she screamed, and no one made her ask again.

* * *

><p>"Good morning."<p>

Johann looked up as Rose walked into the kitchen—wearing nothing but her undergarments and a flimsy, sleeveless nightgown reaching barely past mid-thigh. His gears froze and he almost dropped his book. The tips of her fingers were bandaged with white gauze, and suddenly last night's events came rushing back to the ghost.

When Johann didn't respond, Rose cleared her throat. "I take it I'm not wearing what I think I'm wearing."

Johann managed to shake his head before, again, realizing that he still hadn't answered her. "Nein, I don't sink you are."

Rose paused, and then shrugged. "Well, I'm sure no one will mind until I can get a proper change of clothes. After all, Abraham walks around in nothing but a pair of swim trunks."

"Somehow I don't sink zis is ze same sing," Johann muttered as Rose sidestepped him, trying hard to look anywhere but at her as she opened the fridge. He was struggling to focus on his book when her voice came again, this time embarrassed, from the other side of the kitchen.

"Dr. Krauss," Rose murmured, her cheeks pink, "If it wouldn't be too much of a bother, could you help me find the open milk? Someone seems to have restocked the fridge since I last opened it." She paused. "And one of the cartons smells like ink."

"O-Oh!" Johann stood up suddenly, his chair scraping loudly across the tile. "Of course!" He clunked over to the fridge and reached over Rose's shoulder, keenly aware of the press of her body against the metal of his suit. Johann found himself thanking the gods that he no longer had blood to blush with, and his voice didn't sound quite normal as he explained, "L-Liz has gotten into ze h-habit of marking ze open cartons vith red marker. And she u-usually puts zem in zhe front of zhe f-fridge."

"Thank you." Rose and Johann both reached for the milk at the same time, knocking the carton to the floor. Both of them bent down to grab it, Johann chuckling nervously. He started to speak again, but a growl from the kitchen door stopped him. Noel had just wandered in, and was glaring daggers at the ghost.

Rose laughed. "Noel, this isn't what you think."

"What ain't what he thinks?"

Rose and Johann both straightened as Noel moved to let Hellboy into the kitchen. He glared at Rose as he moved past Johann to the fridge. "How'd ya sleep?"

She smirked as she sat down at the table across from Johann. "Well enough, though I had a dream about an obnoxious red ape. And you?"

The demon snorted. "Dreamt about an ungrateful harpie bitch."

Rose smiled in a way that could only be described as wicked. "You dreamt of _me_, Hellboy? I'm flattered, but truly not interested."

Johann coughed, surprised, and Noel's jaw dropped. Hellboy's grip on the apple in his hand tightened, and he scoffed. "What the hell are ya even wearin'? You should know better than ta wander around lookin' like a two-bit slut."

Rose stirred milk into her tea, nonchalantly responding, "I could take it off, if you'd prefer, but I'd hate to fuel your unrequited fire."

Johann dropped his book altogether and there was a loud crunch as the apple in Hellboy's hand was reduced to puree. Without another word, he stalked out of the kitchen, his footsteps rattling the cups in the cabinet.

Noel shook his head, grinning, as Rose laughed. "Do you think I've offended him?"

* * *

><p>John rubbed his temples. "Remind me again how you talked me into letting you do this?"<p>

Hellboy grinned as he climbed back into the truck, shooting a couple of girls a winning grin. "C'mon, Boy Scout. It's just hot dogs!"

"The cafeteria makes hot dogs."

The demon tossed all but one of the bags to the rest of the team in the back of the truck and banged on the metal divider. "Drive, Squirt, or none for you!" Pulling one the hot dogs from his remaining bag, he took a large bite. "Besides, the cafeteria food sucks."

Liz scoffed as she slathered hers in mustard. "This is high school again, Hellboy?"

He shrugged. "Never went. I wouldn't know."

A low chuckle echoed in the truck, from where Noel and Rose sat. The two were shoulder to shoulder, Noel smiling at something his sister was explaining, her pale hands flying as she gestured dramatically. As usual, their words were too quiet to make out, much to Hellboy's chagrin—it sounded more like they were humming.

"Hey!" Hellboy reached into his bag and held one out to her. "Ever had a hot dog?"

Rose wrinkled her nose, and Noel arched his eyebrows. Hellboy rolled his eyes. "It's made of meat."

Neither sibling moved to take it.

A sigh. "_Cow _meat."

Exchanging a glance with her brother, Rose frowned and took it. Sharp teeth sunk into the hot dog and her eyes widened. "This is disgusting. This is _meat_?"

Abe looked pointedly at Hellboy. "My point exactly."

Johann glanced up from his book long enough to comment, "Coming from ze vone zat eats rotten eggs."

Ignoring the ensuing argument between the icthyo-sapien and the ghost, Hellboy turned to the vampires, his eyebrows arched. "Ya been on the run for a hundred years and you've never had a hot dog?"

Noel's expression grew cold as Rose appraised Hellboy. "We never had the time."

"A century's a long time."

She smiled, displaying her teeth. "Not long enough, it seems."

* * *

><p>"I <em>have<em> to ask; what language are you speaking?"

Rose and Noel looked up from their game of cards and Abe momentarily stopped trouncing Hellboy at chess to turn to the siblings. "I've never heard it before, and you two always speak so quietly. And I'm not one to boast my hearing, but I swear you two are humming."

The two shared a glance before Noel slowly nodded. "That's because we are."

Abe's gills flared as he cocked his head to the side. "Excuse me?"

"Our language is based off of the keys of a human piano." She smirked. "Actually, it's more the other way around. There are eighty-eight keys on a piano, yes? If you take off the first eighteen from either side, leaving only the middle fifty-two keys, each of the letters in our alphabet corresponds to every other key of those fifty-two. Our letters are the equivalent to English." She paused. "To speak quietly, all we need do is hum."

"How does your written word work?"

"We have letters that correspond to each note."

"That's fascinating!" The fish-man quickly hummed something as his fingers fluttered, mock-playing a piano. He frowned. "Although, if I have my piano keys right—your brother is calling you Opal."

Rose smiled tightly. "It is a nickname my family gave me when I was little."

Hellboy's tail curled agitatedly. "What kinda nickname is that?"

"The obvious kind, _Hellboy_." The vampire fixed him a disparaging look. "I was quite fond of opals as a child. I still am."

"A blood-sucker that likes shiny things? You're more like some crow." He absently moved another chess piece, then scowled as Abe proceeded to take it with his rook. "Ya got wings like one."

"Yeah," Clay's voice from the doorway made everyone turn to look at the newcomer. "I thought vampires didn't have wings."

Rose scoffed and Noel rolled his eyes. "Yes, and I suppose we're terrified of garlic and crosses and can't go out in the daylight."

"Well, certainly not crosses," Abe noted, glancing at her rosario. Noel said something, but before Rose could speak, Abe interrupted, "Might I have a try?"

A shrug. "I don't see why not."

Abe took a step closer to Noel and the vampire repeated himself word by word. Abe chuckled, pleased with himself. "He said, 'I don't mean to be rude, but why are you here, Agent Clay? I was under the impression that you and Agent Myers complained of a shitload of paperwork.'" He turned to Rose. "Did I get it right?"

She smiled. "Absolutely."

Clay pulled at his collar. "I come bearing bad news, actually. A couple of demons have been running rampant up and down the Jersey Shore. They ended up being glimpsed on some ridiculous reality show. We need to go get them. _Now._"

Hellboy stood, the chair scraping behind him as he stood. "Perfect. I'm in the head-smashing mood." He stormed past the siblings. "Let's go, _Opal_."

As the rest of them followed, Noel scowled and hissed something, his expression dark. Rose grinned, and Abe paused a moment as he rushed to translate it. He paled. "Oh my. I'm not going to translate _that_."

* * *

><p>It was all well and good until Liz froze.<p>

They had pulled up to the pier an hour ago, where Hellboy, Johann, John, Abe and Noel had crept from the truck to hide in an alleyway—until Liz and Rose assessed the threat.

And the threat showed up just as planned, two lizard-men snickering as they skirted the shadows of the pier. According to plan, Liz was to ignite and Rose was to corral them away from any exits while Hellboy and the others finished them off. It was all going perfectly until they spotted Liz.

And Liz was rooted to the ground.

"Go, Liz!" Hellboy hissed from the shadows as he watched the demons close in on her. "C'mon, babe! Light up!"

The woman's mouth opened as she groped for something to say, but by then it was too late. The demons had yanked her out of the Samaritan's range. One of them turned to Rose. "Come here."

The vampire stood her ground—if it was a situation where Liz wasn't in danger, Hellboy might've admired her guts. "No."

One of the demons bared his teeth as he stalked toward her. "Do it or we'll kill her." He jerked a thumb back at Liz. "You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"I just might."

"Just cut the fucking bitch!" Smoke literally poured from the other demon's flared nostrils, his tail twitching back and forth.

Hellboy swore under his breath. _Perfect, now she's gone and pissed 'em the fuck off._

Rose laughed. "With what? Your _widdle bitty _knife?"

The second lizard man shrieked, his steel blade glinting in the streetlamp as it sliced Rose's flesh, knocking her to the ground. "Stupid whore."

"Fuck," Hellboy hissed. "Fuckity-fucking fuck. Is she dead? How the fuck are we going to—"

A hand clamped over his mouth, and Hellboy turned, stunned, to Noel. The vampire glared at him, jerking his head over to where the two demons were advancing on Liz, just past Rose's crumpled form.

Red's eyes widened. _Wait, what...?_

"That, my friends, was a mistake."

Surprised, the demons turned back to Rose, who'd risen to her feet, blood trickling from a gash in her cheek. Wolf-like creatures made of velvety darkness paced around her, snarling and snapping their jaws together menacingly. The air reeked of blood, and Hellboy wrinkled his nose—the vampire hadn't lost that much, had she?

"Oh God." John jabbed him in the side. "Red, _look_."

The stench of blood was cloying now as the demon took a _good _look at Rose. The creatures that circled her and screamed almost like humans were _made _of blood. _Her _blood. Rose laughed, and the gash in her cheek stretched, streaming blood into her open mouth, staining her teeth. "You two aren't very clever, are you?" When they didn't answer, her grin widened. "Boo."

Almost immediately, the tables turned. Both lizard men stepped away from Liz and took off in two different directions—one down the dock and one heading back into the city. Rose lifted an arm and pointed at the one heading for the ships. "Fetch."

With rabid howls, her servants tore after the demon, dragging him to the ground and ripping him to shreds, absorbing his teal blood into themselves with violent glee. Hellboy rose to chase after the other one, but the smell of blood, much closer to him, reached his nose. He craned his neck to look at Noel, who had stood and was walking to his sister. Blood trickled from his wrist where he'd punctured his own skin.

A shriek rose from the alleys behind them, and several large lion-like creatures surged from the side streets, swarming around Noel. Their leader dropped the other lizard man's head at the vampire's feet.

Rose turned to Hellboy and grinned. "Mission accomplished, I take it?"

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><p>"That was unacceptable, you know."<p>

Hellboy tensed as Liz turned to Rose. _"What?"_

Rose was wiping blood from her neck as she looked at the other woman. "How you froze back there. That was unacceptable. It could've gotten the two of us killed."

Liz bristled, her tone low. "I thought vampires couldn't die."

We can be slain in battle—but that is an irrelevant detail. What if it was John?" She sighed. "I understand that you are in pain, but we—"

"You _understand_?" Liz snapped, fire rippling across her skin with violent fury. "Have you ever lost a child? _Children_?"

"No, I've never had a child, but—"

"Then you don't _understand_," she spat.

There was an awkward silence as the only sound was the crackle of the flames against Liz's skin, but then Rose asked, "Did you see them as children, Ms. Sherman? Did you see their futures, their lives? Did you wonder about how they would first experience pain, love, hate, or death? Did you wonder what you would fight with them about, laugh with them about, talk with them about? Did you think of how they would act, react, to the world around them? Did you wonder if you would live to see your grandchildren, or if you would bury your children before you—because after all, it is a dangerous world we live in, Ms. Sherman. Did you think about who they would want to become when they grew up, who they would look up to?" As she spoke, she never looked away from Liz. "Or did you see them as two entities in your belly, to be born, and then you would think and wonder and decide as you went?"

Liz paled, and the fire died. "I—I never—I never thought about it like that—"

Rose expression didn't change. It was cold as she said, "Then you know even less than I."

An awkward silence reigned again before Hellboy snapped, "Hey, apologize to my wife!"

Noel's hand came up to rest protectively onto Rose's shoulder, but she shrugged him off. "Oh, it's _Mrs._ Sherman, is it? Congratulations, however belated they may be."

"I said, an _apology_," Hellboy growled.

Rose smiled faintly. "I understand that, Hellboy. This does not mean I'm willing to or going to give one."

Hellboy took a step forward, but Liz snapped, "Leave her alone, Red."

The demon turned, stunned. "But Liz! She—"

"Yeah, and she said it to me. And I don't want her to apologize. Besides, I'm not your wife anymore."

Uncomfortable silence reigned until John's voice filtered in from the front of the truck. "Does anything faze you, Rose?"

The vampire shrugged. "If they did, I'd be dead."

Hellboy snorted. "Probably wouldn't be much different then how you are alive."

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><p><em>Reviews would be nice. They are, after all, what motivates me to post more.<em>

_Kit_


	3. Chapter 3

_So, I think this is the last I'll post of this story for a while. I have other things I should be working on, and I don't see any reason to continue with this for the next month or so._

**_Warnings/Disclaimers: Opal/Rose, Feroluce/Noel, Byron, Aranabella and the plot are ours. Hellboy characters belong to Mike Mignola. There's some swearing and maybe some violence. Not sure._**

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><p><em>The room was dark when she walked in. Byron was on the other side of the room, sitting at his ornate writing desk, his head in his hands. As she walked in, he looked up, and his eyes brightened. He smiled and spread his arms wide. "Aranabella, my dearest!"<em>

_Opal shook her head. "Father, it is I, Opal."_

_Byron's face fell and his voice became quiet. "Oh. Where is my wife?"_

_"Mother is resting, Father." Opal's shoulders tensed as her nails dug into the soft flesh of her palm. In the doorway, Feroluce stood waiting, sensing her discomfort. "I am your daughter."_

_The king sighed, and his eyes flashed with something not-quite sane. "She has been resting for a long while, Opal."_

_"Mother is very tired, Father."_

_"You look so much like her."_

_Opal grit her teeth. "So you tell me, Father."_

_The old vampire smiled. "She is very proud of you, Opal-you've grown so." Suddenly he frowned, and he asked, "Where is Aranabella?"_

_"Mother is resting, Father. She is very tired. I will let you know when she wakes up."_

_Byron nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you, Aranabella."_

_Opal could feel something warm and wet begin to pool in her clenched hand-her nails had pierced flesh. "My name is Opal, Father."_

* * *

><p>"Who does this bitch think she is?" Hellboy stormed around the library as Abe watched on. It had been several days since the botchedsuccessful mission, and it had been one altercation after another with Rose. Right now, the vampire was off somewhere with Liz—those two seemed to be getting along despite their blowout—and last Red and Blue saw Noel, Johann was chattering his ear off about something. "Walking around like she owns the fuckin' place."

"Actually," Abe pointed out absently as he flipped a page, "You seem to attack her, more often than not."

"Because she's a _bitch_!"

The icthyo-sapien sighed, but the demon fixed him with a glare. "At least she and her brother won't be buggin' us on the annual fishing trip."

"Um..."

Hellboy spun on his heel. "Something ta say, Blue?"

"The trip. It's for agents." He paused, fiddling with his fingers. "_All_ of the agents."

Abe had to admit; watching Hellboy's face steadily grow a dark shade of purple was far more amusing than it should've been.

* * *

><p>"You know," Liz commented, hours later, as the car shuttled them to the lake, "I've never seen you mad, Rose."<p>

The girl raised her head from her brother's shoulder, and his hand automatically flew to her elbow. "What?"

"She's right," John realized, "I never _have _seen you mad, either."

Rose looked perplexed, her eyebrows furrowing. "I don't understand."

"You never get angry. You don't get pissed at Manning, or at Hellboy when he pulls his stupid stunts. I mean, you glare, but I've never seen you snap at anyone or yell or throw a fit." He paused, then jerked a thumb at Hellboy. "I've never seen anyone spend three weeks with this guy and not flip shit."

Liz expected the girl to relax, but she only tensed up further. Noel straightened, looking at his sister with barely-contained anxiety.

"Anger before grief. Grief before madness." Rose's voice was so faint they had to lean in to hear her.

Johann leaned forward. "Vhat vas zat?"

She looked up, a twisted smile contorting her features, but her gaze was quickly pulled out of the window. "I think we have arrived." Noel helped her from the car before it even ground to a halt, pulling her toward the shore and murmuring something in her ear.

As Hellboy climbed out of the car, wincing as his back cracked, Liz came around to his side of the limo. "Be nice, Hellboy."

He scowled. "Why do you like her so much alluva sudden? Last I remember, ya were on fire and snapping at her!"

The woman paused, wrapping her arms around herself. "She's just so _blunt_, y'know? I just—I like it. I'm not saying we're girlfriends or something, but she doesn't mince words, and I'm sort of drawn to that. You don't get that a lot in women." She gave him a pointed look. "And obviously, a little more estrogen around the water cooler is nice. She's clearly not going to let you shove her around, so you better start being nice before she sics those blood demons on you."

Agents dispersed in various directions, hauling bait and gear and fishing poles, and Hellboy realized that, as always, the freaks were in their own motorboats. But it wasn't until he counted up the boats and the people already in them that he realized that he was going to end up with Noel and Rose. Liz smirked at him when he caught her eye as she climbed into the other boat with Abe and Johann.

Hellboy's upper lip curled into a snarl. So this was all _her_ fault.

John and Clay—in the third boat—exchanged worried glances as Hellboy stormed down the shore and hauled himself into the boat, the extra weight sloshing water into the boat. Without glancing at either of the siblings, he pulled the cord and the motor roared to life, propelling them into the middle of the lake, the other two crafts on their tail.

As they settled into the boats and pulled out their gear, John met Hellboy's eye and mouthed 'be nice'. Were they _all_ in on this bullshit?

"So, did your father ever teach ya anythin'?" Hellboy asked, attempting to be 'nice'. "Y'know, like how ta fish or shoot or somethin'?"

Noel looked uncomfortable, and shook his head, murmuring something under his breath to his sister. Rose was tense, her pale knuckles completely bloodless as she clutched—not held, but _clutched_—her fishing rod. Liz, Abe, and Johann exchanged nervous glances, while John and Clay were motioning for Red to drop the subject.

The demon didn't get the hint. "I mean, I know he was the chief of your clan or whatever, but he musta made time to teach the two of you somethin', or just spend time, or—"

A loud, sharp crack resounded across the tranquil lake as Rose's fishing pole snapped in her hand. "Our father taught us _nothing_!" she hissed.

The team exchanged glances, stunned, as Rose gave her ruined fishing pole a look of disgust as she flung it away from the boat. "Contrary to popular belief, Hellboy, our personal lives are not for public scrutiny. Or should I pry into the relationship between you and _your _murdered father?"

With a growl, Hellboy stood up, rocking the boat so hard that the tackle box went flying into the lake. Liz, Abe and Johann pulled their boat closer to John and Clay's, as far away from the third one as possible. The demon towered over Rose. "Watch it. Ya don't know what the fuck yer talkin' about."

Rose got steadily to her feet, her eyes never leaving Hellboy's in that uncanny way that she saw without seeing. "I suggest you do the same." She took a step closer to the demon, rocking the boat even harder. "I would also suggest, Agent Hellboy, you learn some fucking _manners_." With emphasis on the final word, Rose placed her hands on Hellboy's chest and shoved him into the lake.

John's jaw dropped as a wave of lake water crashed over the three boats, Rose and Noel calmly rebalancing theirs before facing the rest of the team, fabric tearing as wings sprouted from both of their backs. Rose turned to Clay. "I'm sorry for the disturbance. I, for one, have had my fill of fishing. Noel and I will wait for you where the trail meets the main road." She cast a withering glance at the ripples Hellboy had created, and Noel grinned. "He's been underwater quite a while." A vicious smile bared her teeth. "I do hope I didn't push him _too _hard."

By the time Hellboy resurfaced, spitting water and cursing the vampire to all forty-eight levels of hell, the siblings were two black dots receding over the trees.

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><p>Rose was out of the car before the garage doors had even finished opening, shouting something to Noel that Abe roughly translated as "I need to be alone", and then she was flying down the halls, her long legs carrying her to her room. With an absent flick of her hand, she sent the door of her room crashing into the wall as it swung open. Her backpack—the black material standing out against the dark red of her walls—was already open and she plunged her hand into a side pocket. Her fingers closed around a cold hilt and she was up again in a flash, the sheath discarded and her other hand yanking her sleeves up as she sank onto the bed.<p>

Over the roar in her head, Rose barely heard the footsteps coming towards her door before Liz appeared in the entryway. The vampire shoved the knife behind her as Liz flushed. "Oh. Was I interrupting something?"

Her throat was dry—she swallowed. "No. No, it's fine. Come in?"

Liz crossed the threshold, closing the door behind her. Her eyes were drawn to Rose's arms. "That's a lot of..." she paused.

"Of cuts," Rose finished. "I've nothing to hide, Liz."

The other woman slowly walked across the room to sit opposite the vampire on the bed. "Why do you and Noel have them? Is it to call those demons?"

The girl's lips quirked into a faint smile. "The guardians, yes. It's a gift of the clan leader's bloodline. We can call them forth and give them a body within our blood, and they serve us. They manifest into different forms for each of us. Mine are wolves."

"I-I thought vampires didn't have any blood." Liz frowned. "Is it from people you've—"

"The guardians take away the need for Noel and I to feed, for the most part. It is a good partnership. But my blood is my own, as is the rest of my people's." She held her hand in front of her face, studying it with blind eyes. "We are almost human."

Liz couldn't tear her eyes away from the rows of scars. "Did they hurt?"

Rose glanced at her, and Liz bristled, but she found no pity in the vampire's eyes. Only cold, blatant honesty. She shook her head. "The first one, the very first time I sliced open my own skin, yes, it was painful. It was terrible, but that was only because I was scared." As she spoke, she pulled a small dagger from behind her. "And the pain never leaves. It is your body begging you to stop."

Liz frowned. "Oh."

The dagger flashed, quickly spinning between Rose's barely moving fingers, and then in a flash of silver, it tore another cut into her skin—blood flooded over her wrist instantly, dripping onto the black linens. "But it does become better. The first time is always the worst—the feeling of 'what am I doing?'—but then the pain becomes an exquisite release, a delicate, intimate pleasure. A relief, almost." She wiped the blade on her trousers and it was spinning between her fingers again for several seconds, before stopping once more, the hilt pointed at Liz. Rose brought her bleeding wrist to her mouth, her own blood smearing her lips. "Pain to chase away the pain, I suppose. A magnificent paradox."

Liz's world narrowed down to the blood dripping down Rose's chin and the dagger offered to her, and Rose watched her carefully. Which is why, as Liz reached to take the dagger, neither of them heard Hellboy throw the door open.

The woman jumped, but Rose didn't flinch. Hellboy appraised them both quickly, his eyes narrowing in rage. "What the fuck is goin' on here?"

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><p><em>Reviews improve writers. And they're appreciated. Thank you for the views and favorites so far.<em>

_Kit_


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